Sweet Tree Hill
by msandie
Summary: Haley James has it all. The perfect boyfriend, great friends, and a career that is about to skyrocket. But what happens when her past catches up with her, and people left forgotten are suddenly back in her life. AU Naley
1. The Start of Something New

Okay, this is my first ever attempt at writing fanfiction. It's pretty much something I've wanted to do for a while, and now I've finally got the guts to do it LOL. The movie Sweet Home Alabama was a huge inspiration for this story, as it follows some of the movie's plot. Reviews are very much appreciated, good or bad.

Summery: Haley James has it all. The perfect boyfriend, great friends, and a career that is about to skyrocket. But what happens when her past catches up with her, and people left forgotten are suddenly back in her life. AU Naley

Haley and Brooke left Tree Hill during their senior year.

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with One Tree Hill or the CW.

**Chapter 1-The Start of Something New**

"Do I look nervous? Please tell me I don't look nervous?" Haley looked toward her best friend Brooke Davis with an anxious expression on her face as she took a sip of her coffee. She could feel the knots tying in her stomach, and as hard as she tried to mask her feelings, she knew that she was slowly falling apart.

The pair sat side by side in stools at their local coffee shop on a Friday morning. Everyday Friday for the past six years the two of them had come to this same shop to get coffee, and today was no different.

Brooke glanced over at Haley before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Umm…no honey, you look _very_ nervous." Brooke laughed and Haley's face fell. "But have no worries. Today is definitely our day, better yet our night. When those fashion critics see my latest designs they are literally going to piss their pants."

Haley, suddenly feeling more comfortable, raised an eyebrow at the brunette's expression questionably.

"Literally." Brooke spoke back with a laugh causing Haley to laugh also.

"Come on now Hales, you know how hard we've worked for this moment. Enjoy it." Brooke lightly nudged Haley in her side with her elbow and smiled at her.

Haley sighed and finally felt her body relax. "Okay, okay. I'm relaxed, you see?" Haley replied with fake enthusiasm.

Brooke simply smirked at Haley before taking another sip of her coffee. "Sure honey…very convincing."

Haley sighed and covered her face with her hands before plopping her head down on the counter. She was never good at handling these types of situations, and now it seemed that she was finally about to break. Today was the biggest day of her career, maybe even her life, and she was letting her nerves get the best of her.

Brooke quickly finished her coffee and placed $10 on the counter. She gave her friend standing behind the counter a wink before suddenly grabbing Haley and pulling her out of her chair, almost causing the small blond to fall. She linked arms with the girl before walking out of the coffee shop and into the streets of New York.

Looking over at her friend, Brooke could tell that she definitely needed to pull herself together. They had too much riding on tonight, and now was not the time for Haley to start freaking out.

"Alright, listen to me Haley James. You can do this." Brooke told her in a strong voice, hoping to calm her nerves.

Haley started to object but Brooke quickly cut her off. "How long have we known each other Haley?" Haley sighed and shot gave Brooke an annoyed look.

"How long Haley?" Brooke asked again in a singsong voice.

Haley rolled her eyes at Brooke. "Nine years. Nine long and painful years."

Brooke laughed at Haley and released her grip on her hands. "And in those nine _exciting and wonderful years_, have I ever let you down?"

"No." Haley sighed. "No Brooke, you have never let me down. And your point is?" Haley asked with a roll of her eyes.

The smirk was once again plastered across Brooke's face. "So why are you so nervous? Loosen up girly. This is it. This is our moment. You and me Hales. We worked our asses off for this."

Haley finally found herself smiling. "This is my moment, huh?"

Brooke lightly punched Haley in the arm. "Stay with me here Hales. _Our_ moment."

Both girls laughed and began to walk their apartment building, dodging traffic on their way. Having been living in the big city for the past eight years, they were experts at maneuvering themselves around New York City.

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Brooke tossed her keys on the kitchen table and went straight to Haley's bedroom. Haley closed the door to their apartment and closely followed behind Brooke, who was now stretched out across Haley's bed.

"Why is it that you can never seem to find your own bed? It's right down the hall." Haley asked, taking off her boots and sloppily throwing them into her closet.

Brooke laughed at looked up at Haley. "Because, this bed is more comfortable."

Haley sighed and motioned for Brooke to scoot over so she could sit down on the bed. "We have the exact same bed Brooke. There's no way mine can be more comfortable." Haley looked toward her friend, awaiting an explanation.

"Okay, you got me." Brooke sighed, sitting up on the bed. "But my room is just so far away though. I don't think I could make the walk." Brooke said, pouting at Haley.

Haley shook her head and laughed at her friend. "Well Brookie, you might as well get up. We have no time to relax."

Haley glanced down at her watch and stood up from her spot on the bed. "The show starts in exactly nine hours and we still have a lot of work to do."

Brooke whined and slowly got off the bed, mumbling words that Haley could not understand under her breath. "Weren't you just nervous as hell like five minutes ago?" She asked in annoyance, rising from her position on the bed.

"Keyword _was_. Now come on Davis." Haley pointed toward the bedroom door and Brooke slowly made her out of Haley's bedroom.

"You know what Hales?" Brooke asked with a mischievous grin on her face as she stood in Haley's doorway.

Haley looked at Brooke curiously, motioning for her to continue.

"It totally smells like sex in here." Brooke looked at Haley's sudden wide eyes and smirked before continuing. "Did Bobby come by last night and give you a little late night nookie?"

Haley felt her face turn about five shades of red. Haley and Robert had been dating for a little over eight months. They had literally crashed into each other one day while walking around the crowded city of New York. Haley had been running an errand, while Robert was trying to hail a taxicab, neither paying attention to what was going on around them. Robert crashed into Haley, pummeling her down to the cold cement. Haley looked up quickly, preparing to verbally assault the idiot who had made her fall, but one look at Robert's handsome face and 6 foot frame was all it took, she was hooked.

"Brooke, you already know Robert came over last night." Brooke shrugged her shoulder at Haley from the doorway, giving her a clueless look. "You let him in the apartment. And there is no way you smell 'sex' in here Brooke, because we didn't do anything last night. We just talked about tonight's show, which he won't be able to attend, and then he left early this morning when his mom called. Which was really annoying by the way. I mean God the woman is the mayor. You would think she has more to do than try and ruin our relationship."

Brooke laughed at Haley. "Slow down Hales, I could barely understand a word you just said. And I already know nothing happened last night. I heard him leave early this morning. I was just messing with you," Brooke shrugged.

Haley lunged at Brooke who quickly dove out of the way before Haley could reach her. Brooke stuck her tongue out at Haley and ran off to the living room. Haley laughed and went to her closet to try and find the perfect outfit to wear to their fashion show later that night.

She heard the phone ring and yelled for Brooke to answer it. When the phone continued to ring Haley stopped looking for an outfit to wear and went to answer the phone, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Haley James speaking." Haley spoke into the phone.

"_Did you know that I have been trying to get in contact with you for the past two weeks."_ Haley let out a loud groan as she realized who was on the other end of the phone.

"_Nice to here from you too sweetie."_ The person on the phone deadpanned.

"I'm sorry mom, I meant to call you back, but I've just been…busy." Haley said, suddenly feeling bad for not calling her mother, but she couldn't help it. Her mother wasn't exactly the nicest person in the world, and everytime she spoke to her, it seemed to bring her spirits down a few notches.

"_Of course you have been."_ Her mother responded sarcastically. _"Do you know how embarrassing it is to find out from a neighbor that your daughter is the next big thing?"_

"Mom, what are you—"

"—_No, of course you wouldn't know!! I had to find out about your fashion show from Mrs. Simpson! Apparently, she knows more about my own daughter's life than I do."_

Haley was soon bombarded with a list of complaints. She tuned her mother out and went back to her closet to try and find something to wear. She had been expecting a phone call from her mother; she just didn't want to have to deal with her today.

"_Are you listening to me?" _

"Yes." Haley snapped annoyed. She picked up an outfit and held it up against her body, examining the way it looked on her.

"_And what's this I hear that you have a boyfriend. The mayor's son no less."_ Haley sighed on the other end of the phone before her mother continued. It was as if her mother had some kind of unnatural power when it came to her. There was no way her mother could possibly know all of this information, even if Mrs. Simpson had blabbed every single last thing she'd read about Haley to her mother. Someone had to be telling her all of these things, but who? As if her mother had read her thoughts, she soon continued.

"_Brooke keeps her mother informed on what is going on in her life. She even had the decency to answer the phone when I called one day. She told me all about your boyfriend, Ronnie, New York's 'Bachelor of the Year'. I bet she doesn't avoid her mother like the plague."_

"It's Robert." Haley corrected her as she exited her bedroom in search of Brooke. Anger could not even begin to describe the way she felt at the moment. Brooke was supposed to be her best friend, and best friends definitely didn't go and talk to mothers behind their friend's back. A frown formed on Haley's face when she found Brooke in the living room, reading a magazine.

"Who's on the phone?" Brooke whispered at Haley when she saw her enter the room with an angry expression on her face.

"Hold on one second." Haley spoke into the phone. She could still hear her mother ranting on the phone as she pushed the mute button, but she didn't care.

Haley crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Brooke. "My mother."

Brooke paled. "Umm…wow look at the time." Brooke said and looked at a non-existing watch on her arm.

"Ooh no, you are not getting away that easily. Why would you tell her about Robert?" Haley asked as she sat on the couch next to Brooke, burying her face in her hands.

"Are you mad?" Brooke asked carefully. Of course she knew Haley was angry, the girl practically had smoke coming out of her ears.

Haley sighed and shook her head at Brooke. She could never stay mad at her for long.

"Okay good because your mother totally caught me off guard and tricked me into telling her. She called from the Country Club phone one day, and I answered the phone, expecting it to be my mother." Haley nodded at Brooke. Both their mother's were respective members of their hometowns elite Country Club.

"Anyways…your mother started talking about you and how you'll never find someone after _he who shall not be named_…and it all just kind of came out. Sorry."

"_Haley Bethany James!"_ Haley and Brooke both jumped at the loud noise that came from the phone. Haley quickly pushed the mute button and answered her mother sweetly.

"_Honestly, that was so rude. If you don't have time to talk to your one and only mother, just say it. You don't have to keep me on hold for 30 minutes while you run off and do God knows what."_

Haley rolled her eyes. "Actually mom, I am kind of busy. I have to go right now, but I promise that I will call you tomorrow and tell you all about tonight's show. Okay?"

Haley quickly hung up the phone before her mother had a chance to reply and closed her eyes. Brooke opened her mouth to speak, but Haley quickly waved a hand in front of her face, signaling that she did not want to talk at the moment.

She had not even been sitting down for five minutes before the phone rang again, but this time Brooke went to answer the phone, to which Haley had no objections.

"Omigosh, Rachel!" Brooke screamed into the phone, causing Haley to give her an annoyed look, which Brooke ignored. Haley never understood why Brooke kept in contact with her. Hell, she didn't understand why Brooke spoke to anyone from that chapter of their lives period. Sighing, Haley stood from the couch and left the room as she heard Brooke animatedly talking on the phone.

This was definitely not the type of stress she needed at the moment, she thought to herself. The impending fashion show already had her nervous, and now her mother calling her out of the blue just to nag her definitely added on to the stress.

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"1…2…3…4…5…damnit, this isn't working! Antonio, why isn't this working?" Brooke whined to a petrified looking Antonio. She continued to slowly count to ten, before once again stopping in frustration.

Antonio sighed and stared at Brooke. "First off honey, you have to count _backwards_ from ten. Not forwards. Secondly, you have absolutely nothing to worry about; these people are going to love you. Hell, they already love you, just go out there and show them what you're made of."

Antonio Thomas was Haley and Brooke's closest friend in New York City. He had met both girls during their freshman year of college at NYU, and now six years later he was their business partner and confidant. Many people thought their friendship was awkward, but they all just fit well together.

Brooke looked towards her friend and smiled. "You are so right Tony, I guess I was just having a 'Haley' moment." She said referring to her nervousness causing Antonio to laugh. She quickly looked around at the area, making sure no one had seen her sudden outburst.

"Where is your lovely sidekick?" He asked and looked around the room also. There were models clad in Brooke's latest designs frantically running around trying to do last minute touch ups to there already perfect faces, but there was no sign of Haley.

"Shit. I don't know. You haven't seen her?"

Antonio shook his head. "Not since about 20 minutes ago."

"Okay Tony, you make sure everything and everybody is ready for tonight. Okay?" Antonio nodded at Brooke as she turned to leave in search of Haley, before quickly whipping back around to look at him. "And if you see Haley tell her to get her ass in gear right now!" Brooke said before walking away quickly.

Antonio continued to nod at Brooke's narrowing figure. He vaguely heard her yell at a few of the models before he saw Haley walking toward him clad in a revealing black knee length dress and matching Prada shoes. He sighed, as Haley got closer to him, noticing that she was as nervous as Brooke had just been.

"Oh no, not you too honey!" He stated worriedly as Haley came closer, pulling her to him for a hug.

Haley leaned her head against Antonio's shoulders and let out a loud breath. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Antonio quickly pushed Haley's body off of his and backed away. "Not on my new Gucci shoes you aren't." He pointed towards his black shoes and looked at Haley as if she were crazy.

Haley rolled her eyes at the man. Sometimes him and Brooke could be so much alike. "It's a figure of speech Antonio. Where's Brooke?"

"She just ran off to go look for you. She's a little worried about you, not that I would blame her. But Hales, you have nothing to worry about, you look gorgeous."

Haley smiled at Antonio and pulled him into a hug, whispering thank you in his ear.

"I agree…you look wonderful babe."

Haley whirled around at the sound of the voice, almost knocking Antonio over.

"Robert!" She screamed, jogging over to her boyfriend. "I thought you said you couldn't make it." She asked, staring at him with interest.

"Did I say that?" He asked in an amused voice. Haley lightly punched him in the arm and he stared at her seriously. "You know I wouldn't miss this for the world." He whispered gently before leaning forward, giving Haley a light kiss on the lips.

"Well isn't this cute. Here I am, running all over the place looking for you, and you're standing around smooching with your boy-toy. Did you forget the show starts in like five minutes!?"

The couple slowly broke apart and saw a very annoyed Brooke standing next to an even more amused Antonio, staring at them.

"Well hello to you too Cruella De Vil." Teased Robert, causing both Haley and Antonio to snicker. Brooke mumbled a few choice words under her breath and grabbed Haley's hand, pulling her away from her boyfriend.

Brooke pretended to laugh and stared at her friends. "Everything's funny right?" She asked, but continued before either had a chance to reply. "It's not gonna be funny when all three of us are standing in an unemployment line fighting for coupons to the local grocery store because we can't afford food, is it?" Brooke shook her head and continued. "No, it's not gonna be funny. And you Bobby, you and your hil-_arious_ jokes are going to be to blame."

Robert visibly flinched at the nickname Brooke had given him before raising his hands in defeat, backing away from the group. One of Brooke's classic mood swings was definitely not something he wanted to deal with at the moment. "I'm just going to go…that-a-way." He said and quickly walked away from the trio.

Brooke rolled her eyes at his retreating figure and turned to her friends. "Your boyfriend's really funny Haley." Brooke deadpanned.

"And cute too." Antonio added breathlessly. Both Haley and Brooke turned towards Antonio and laughed. "What, you know I can't resist tall blondes."

"Me neither." Brooke joked, wiggling her eyebrows at Haley. "Corny jokes aside, Bobby is looking mighty fine tonight."

Haley playfully scoffed at Brooke and Antonio as they high fived each other. "Enough with the jokes, let's get this show on the road."

"Now you're talking Haley." Brooke replied eagerly, grabbing Haley and Antonio by the arms, leading them towards the runway.

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"Oh my God! That was possibly the best moment of my life. Ever. Did you see how everyone applauded at the end? I mean we got a standing ovation, for like five minutes!! On our first show!! Who does that?" Haley exclaimed, looking towards her boyfriend.

Robert stared back at her with an amused look on his face. The show had been over for an hour, and Haley still couldn't stop talking about it.

"I'll tell you who does that. Nobody. Nobody does that, Robert. And did you see J-Lo sitting in the audience! She totally loved our show. And…and did you— "

Robert planting a firm kiss on her lips cut off Haley's speech. She moaned against his lips before giggling lightly.

"I guess I was kind of talking a lot, huh?" Haley asked as she broke away from the kiss. Robert laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"So where are we going anyways." Haley asked as she moved over closer to Robert. They had been riding around in a limo for the past 20 minutes, and Haley wasn't sure where they were going. She knew that Brooke and Antonio were planning on going to Club Celebrity for an after party, but they weren't headed in the direction of the club.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out." Robert replied as the car suddenly came to a stop. The limo driver exited the car and opened the door to the back.

"After you, Haley." Robert said, as Haley gave him a questioning look. She exited the limo and took in her surroundings. They were parked in an alley behind what looked like an abandoned building.

"Um…Rob, are you sure we're at the right place?" Asked Haley, trying not to let her disappointment show.

"Positive." Robert said as he pulled a blindfold out of his pocket. "Okay Haley, turn around." He said excitedly while holding up the blindfold.

Haley obliged and turned around. Robert tied the blindfold around her eyes and pulled on it lightly, making sure Haley could not see out of it.

"This is kinky, but I like it." Haley said from behind the blindfolds. Robert laughed at Haley and grabbed her right hand. "Trust me. You ain't seen nothing yet."

And now 15 minutes later, Haley still hadn't seen 'nothing' yet. "Robert." Haley whined. "We have been walking around for the past 15 minutes, where are we?"

She finally felt Robert release the firm grip he had on her hand. "Can I take these off now?" She asked referring to the blindfolds.

"Umm…yeah." Robert replied, reaching behind her to untie the blindfold.

"Finally." Haley said as she felt the blindfold leave her eyes. She opened her eyes and still saw complete darkness. She quickly rubbed her eyes, trying to see if it helped, but when it didn't she frantically felt around for Robert. "Oh my God Robert I think I'm going blind. I can't see!!" Haley screeched into the darkness.

Robert tried to stifle a laugh next to Haley but failed miserably. "It's not funny, you did something to my—"

Lights illuminating the building soon silenced Haley, who gasped as she took in her surroundings. "Oh…my…" Haley started, but soon found the ability to talk slowly leaving her. She slowly surveyed the room, and saw that they were inside of Tiffany's. There were 20 employees spread throughout the store, all looking toward Haley and Robert expectantly. Haley looked towards Robert, who for once had a serious expression on his face, and saw that he had kneeled down on one knee.

"Okay, let me get this out before I lose my nerve." Robert timidly said, staring into Haley's eyes. "Haley, I know we kind of got off to a rough start, being that I literally knocked you off your feet." He gave her a playful grin, to which Haley laughed and stared down at him adoringly, causing him to continue with more confidence. "I know that sometimes I can be a dumbass, and a 'wannabe' comedian as Brooke loves to call me, hell, I even begin to annoy myself sometimes. But Haley, I love you, and it's as simple as that. I love you. I know we haven't been together long, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you'll have me of course." He finally finished with a bright smile upon his face."

"I…I-I don't know what to say Robert." Haley answered honestly. This was definitely not how she had expected the night to turn out.

"A yes would be pretty good right about now." Robert told her with a nervous chuckle.

Haley looked into his brown eyes and saw nothing but love. She smiled down at Robert before finally answering. "Yes…yes I'll marry you." She said with a nod of her head. Robert finally stood up and engulfed Haley in a tight hug.

Haley broke apart from the hug as she noticed that all of the employees in the jewelry store had begun clapping for the newly engaged couple. True to his character, Robert took a graceful bow in front of the crowd of employees causing Haley and several of the workers to laugh at his antics.

"Pick one." He whispered to Haley as dozens of diamond rings were pulled out from the display cases.

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"This night definitely kicked ass." A very drunk Brooke said to a mildly drunk Antonio as they both sat on her living room couch. "As a matter of fact, I kicked ass, and you kicked ass, and Haley kicked ass."

"What are you talking about Brooke?" Antonio asked as he took another swig of his drink.

"I don't know…I think I was talking about ass." Brooke giggled into her drink.

The drunken duo both burst out into laughter as the front door to the apartment opened and closed quietly.

"Shh…did you hear that." Antonio whispered to Brooke.

"Hear what?" Brooke asked excitedly. "You can hear the birds too?" She looked towards the apartment ceiling, as if seeing imaginary birds.

"Okay, no more drinks for you honey." Antonio grabbed the glass out of Brooke's hand and sat it on the living room table. "I meant did you hear the door just open."

"Oh-do you think it's a burglar."

"I don't know…why don't you go see Brooke." Antonio lightly pushed Brooke off of the couch.

"Oh no buddy, I am not going to go and check it out. That's how the dumb blonde always gets killed in the movies."

Antonio stood up from the couch with his drink and grabbed Brooke's hand. They slowly walked around the dark apartment, checking each room for a 'burglar'. When they finally reached the kitchen, Antonio, declaring that there was no burglar in the house after all, decided to fix himself another drink. Brooke stood by in the darkness, impatiently tapping her left foot at her friend. She was so preoccupied with rushing Antonio that she didn't notice that someone had walked up behind her, that is until they lightly tapped her shoulder, causing her to scream at the top of her lungs and Antonio to spill the drink he had just poured.

"You know if I was a burglar I could have killed you both by now." Haley told them with a smirk as she sat at the kitchen table.

"Not funny Hales…you scared _Tony_ half to death." Brooke answered as if she hadn't been the one screaming at the top of her lungs. Antonio gaped at before fixing himself another drink and sat down next to Haley.

"I didn't mean to scare you guys…I –

-Oh…my…God. Haley, what the hell is that on your finger!" Brooke yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Oh this?" Haley asked knowingly as the held up her index finger.

"Bobby proposed!" Brooke screamed walking over to Haley and grabbing her hand. "Tony, Bobby proposed!"

"I can see that Brooke." He answered happily and looked over at the ring again.

"So this is why you skipped out on the after party, huh?" Antonio asked.

Haley nodded her head and stared at the ring on her finger. "Robert took me to Tiffany's after we left the show and proposed to me. It was soooo romantic." Brooke and Antonio both awed at Haley, causing her to laugh slightly. "Until we went to go and meet his mother at a charity event she was hosting." Brooke raised an eyebrow at Haley before she continued, "let's just say Mayor Johnson's reaction wasn't as welcoming as yours."

"Fuck her. You don't need her approval." Brooke said with a shrug and took a sip of Antonio's newly poured drink. "Nobody actually cares about her anyways...what is she like a senator or something?"

"For the hundredth time, she is the mayor Brooke- how many drinks have you had tonight?" Haley asked.

"Too much." Antonio answered for her. "But seriously Haley, who cares if she doesn't like it, she'd better deal with it because you girlie, _are getting married."_ He finished in a singsong voice. Him and Brooke both broke out into a horrible rendition of 'Here Comes the Bride', waving their arms around wildly.

"Yeah…I guess I am." Haley replied distractedly.

Antonio and Brooke shared a look between them and looked back at Haley. She sure didn't look happy for someone who had just been proposed to.

"Um…is everything okay Hales? Antonio asked her softly as her stared into her eyes.

Haley shook her head and continued to stare at the engagement ring. "No…this is horrible."

"The engagement!" Antonio asked.

"My life. My life is horrible. As a matter of a fact this is just completely fucked up. Every time I think I'm actually getting somewhere and moving on with my life, there is always something from my past stopping me." Haley sighed and put her head down on the kitchen table. "There's no way Robert will want to marry me after he finds out." Haley quietly mumbled after a long pause.

Antonio looked toward Brooke with a clueless expression on his face, expecting her to be just as confused as he had been. But when he looked at Brooke he saw that all of the color had left her face, and she looked just as sad as Haley did.

"Okay girls what's going on, you're starting to scare me." Antonio asked.

"I'm married" Haley whispered as she lifted her head from the kitchen table. Brooke quickly looked to Haley with a shocked expression on her face, which confused Antonio even further.

"No honey, you're about to get married…to the man of your dreams." Antonio said as Haley simply shook her head at him.

Antonio looked to Brooke for clarification on the situation at hand, but only got one response.

"Nathan?" Brooke whispered as she looked toward Haley, who simply nodded as a single tear fell down her cheek.


	2. Road Trip

I know...I suck. I was planning on updating much sooner, but this week has just been so hectic. I have finals coming up and prom and graduation, so it's been kind of crazy lately. I just want to say THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!!! They seriously made my day, better yet my year. lol.

Summery: Haley James has it all. The perfect boyfriend, great friends, and a career that is about to skyrocket. But what happens when her past catches up with her, and people left forgotten are suddenly back in her life. AU Naley

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with One Tree Hill or the CW.

_**---Flashbacks are in Italics----**_

**Chapter 2- Road Trip**

Haley opened up the latest issue of People magazine and flopped down on her couch. Turning the pages, she absentmindedly looked through the articles. She saw the usual 'Brangelina' headlines and the occasional story on Britney Spears' new scandals. However, she was not expecting to turn the page and find herself, Brooke and Antonio in the magazine. The picture had been taken about a week ago, as they frantically were putting together the last finishing touches to their fashion show. There were even pictures of Haley and Robert, smiling happily at a charity event.

Haley closed the magazine immediately, a small frown forming on her face, which upset her. Today was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life. She had just gotten engaged, and had put on a successful fashion show, and was finally getting the recognition she deserved. But Haley wasn't happy at all.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my lying best friend Miss Haley James. Or should I say Mrs. Haley James-Scott." Brooke asked as she made her way into the living room and sat down on the couch, purposely putting as much room between Haley and herself as possible.

"Brooke---"

"No really Haley, which one is it. 'Cause I have been under the impression that you were divorced all this time, but _nooo_, it turns out little Haley James has 'secrets'. Secrets that her best friend obviously didn't need to know."

Haley opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by Brooke again.

"I mean I was there Haley. I was right there when you got those divorce papers. Hell I was even there when you signed them. _I_ was under the stupid impression that we were all done with our ties to the people that reside in _Tree Hell_, but I guess I was wrong."

"Weren't you just talking to Rachel yesterday, Brooke?" Haley stared at Brooke with a questioning, but her voice was full of amusement.

"That doesn't count. Rachel lives in California now Haley, not Tree Hill." Brooke answered as if Haley's question was the most trivial thing in the world. "Next thing you're gonna tell me you have secret phone conversations with P. Satan and Pucas."

"P. Satan and Pucas?" Haley teased, trying to ease the tension between the two.

"It's so not funny Haley."

"Okay, so how long are you going to stay mad at me?" Haley asked with her best puppy dogface.

"I don't know yet…you know how petty I can be."

"That I do know." Haley responded with a nod of her head, causing Brooke to throw a pillow at her.

Laughing at her friend's antics, Haley picked up the pillow and sat back on the couch next to Brooke.

"But seriously Brooke, I'm sorry. I know I should have told you. I just didn't know how to say it. I mean I wanted to tell you, but there's no easy way to bring up the fact that you're still married to your high school sweetheart." Haley stated sadly.

Brooke wildly threw her arms into the air and scoffed at Haley. "How about 'Guess what Brooke? I'm still married.' Yeah that would've worked Haley."

"Brooke! I said I was sorry. I don't know what else you want from me." Haley sighed loudly and buried her head in her lap.

"So tell me now." Brooke suddenly said, repositioning herself on the couch to get more comfortable.

"Tell you what?" A skeptical Haley asked as she too got into a more comfortable position.

"Tell me how you and the infamous Scott are still married."

Taking a deep breath, Haley tried to find the words to say. She had replayed the day over and over again in her head so many times, but it all seemed so much more real now that she had to actually talk about it and say it out loud. Sighing, she closed her eyes, and went back to that day, six years in the past.

"_Haley! I swear I am going to personally kill you if I step over another one of these damn books! I know you're like a super nerd, but that doesn't mean you have to scatter these books all over the damn apartment!"_

"_Good morning to you too Brooke." Haley replied nonchalantly as she continued to study, not even bothering to look up at her friend._

"_Why are you studying anyways? The final isn't until Monday."_

"_Did you seriously just ask me that Brooke? Today is Saturday. Which means the final is in two days."_

"_I know what day it is Hales. Which is exactly why I am not going to be holed off in the apartment studying. God, you can be so clueless sometimes Haley."_

"_Well Brooke someone has to run your future clothing line. What was it called again, 'STD'?" Haley asked as she tried to stifle a laugh._

"_Very funny Hales, but it is going to be called Scott, Thomas and Davis. You know me, save the best for last."_

"_I don't know why you insist on attaching Scott to my last name Brooke. Nathan and I aren't together anymore."_

"_Yes, but you're still married girlie, so therefore the Scott will remain."_

"_Okay, suite yourself. But no-ones going to know who the hell you're talking about when you have Scott on there, not even Antonio, who by the way would not like his name being in the middle."_

"_Yeah, yeah…keep telling yourself that." Brooke told her as she heard the apartment door open; knowing that only one person besides the two of them had a key to their home._

"_Ladies, you're looking mighty good today." Antonio told them as he walked over to them._

"_Of course we are Tony, what did you expect." Brooke told him, her voice full of conceit._

"_Classy Brooke. Very classy." Antonio said sarcastically._

"_I try." Brooke responded, clearly not catching on to his sarcasm, causing both him and Haley to laugh._

"_So what's up Antonio?" Haley asked after a brief pause. "You come to tell me I shouldn't be studying too."_

_Grabbing his heart in an exaggerated manner, he looked at Haley as if she were crazy. "Oh God no, I actually came over to get your notes from Design class."_

"_See Brooke, I told you that everyone's going to be studying this weekend." Haley told her excitedly as she went to go and find her notes._

"_Yeah, yeah." Brooke mumbled as she noticed that Antonio had papers in his hand. "What's that?" _

"_This my dear, is the mail. I ran into the mailman on my way up. Sooo hot by the way."_

"_I know right." Brooke told him with a wink as she began to fan herself. "I bet mail's not the only thing he knows how to deliver."_

"_Eww Brooke, no-one wants to hear about your nasty mailman obsession." Haley said as she re-entered the room with the notes for her Design class._

"_Whatever Haley, you know you want him too." Brooke challenged._

_Haley scrunched her nose up and made a disgusted face at Brooke. "He's like 40 years old Brooke. He probably has kids our age."_

_Brooke shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention back to Antonio. "So what's in the mail?"_

"_Let's see here. We have a letter for a Miss Brooke Penelope Davis, another letter for Brooke, and one for Miss Haley James." He handed each girl their mail and retrieved his class notes from Haley. _

"_And one more for a Mrs. Scott." Antonio said confused. Haley's head shot up as she heard the name being read. _

"_Well the mailman might be hot, but he sure as hell doesn't know how to deliver mail. I'll just leave this one here. Just make sure you run this down to the mailman when you see him next time." Antonio told them as he sat the mail down on the table and made his way out of the apartment._

"_Bye Tony!!" Brooke yelled to him as he walked out of the apartment. "Well what do we have here, Mrs. Scott?"_

"_A letter Brooke." Haley told her as she continued to stare at the envelope on her living room table._

"_No shit Sherlock, I meant I wonder who it's from. You haven't used Scott at the end of your name for two years."_

_Haley shrugged and continued to stare intently at the envelope. She really didn't know who it was from, and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out either. _

"_Well, aren't you gonna open it?" Brooke asked, breaking Haley out of her staring contest with the envelope._

"_No."_

_"Why the hell not!"_

"_Can you open it for me Brooke?" Haley asked in a tranced state, causing Brooke so slightly raise an eyebrow at her._

_Brooke stared at Haley for a moment before grabbing the yellow envelope off of the table. She slowly opened the letter and took out the stack of papers that it contained. After looking at the first page Brooke had seen enough, she knew exactly what this was._

"_Umm…Hales, it's, it's--"_

"_What is it Brooke!?" _

"_Divorce papers." Brooke answered sadly._

_Haley gasped and snatched the papers out of Brooke's hand. She surveyed the papers and looked back at Brooke._

"_This son of a bitch is trying to divorce me. Me!! Well you know what, I'll give him what he wants. If he wants a divorce, after everything he put me through then fine." Haley quickly scanned the document to see where she had to sign and put the papers back in the document without even looking at the rest of the papers or Nathan's signature. _

"_Hales, maybe you should talk to Nathan abou-"_

"_What! I refuse to talk to him. He hasn't tried to contact me in the past two years, and has the nerve to send me divorce papers! How the hell does he know where I live anyways?"_

"I already knew all of that Haley, I was there. That doesn't explain why the hell you're still married though." Brooke cut in, bringing Haley out of dazed set of storytelling.

"Okay, so I signed the papers and put them in the mailbox." Brooke nodded her head, urging her to continue. "But about two weeks later it was sent back to me. It said something about not being able to be processed in the system because the signature was wrong."

"But how could the signature be wrong? They must have made a mistake or something."

"That's what I thought too, until I took out the papers and looked over the whole document. I don't know why I didn't read the whole thing the first time I got the papers, I guess I was a little mad."

"A little mad, Haley? You practically ripped my fingers off when you took the divorce papers out of my hand!" Brooke said, visualizing the image.

"Ha ha-the point is that when I looked through the document, I saw that Nathan was the one who's signature wasn't right. He wrote something there, but he didn't sign his name."

"So what did it say?"

Haley sighed loudly and turned to Brooke. "Always and Forever."

Both girls were quiet for a moment, before Brooke finally spoke up. "Why did he send them in the first place then?"

"I don't know, but after I read that I didn't have the heart to even resend them."

"Alright, so let me get this straight. Nathan sends the divorce papers, completely out of the blue, but he didn't want a divorce. And then you get the papers back again, but instead of contacting Nathan for an explanation, you just keep them." Brooke asked, sounding more confused by the minute.

"Pretty much."

"And what does Bobby have to say about all of this?"

"That's the problem. Robert doesn't know anything about my life in Tree Hill. He doesn't know about me being married in High School or anything about Nathan. All he knows is that I'm from a small town somewhere in North Carolina. And oh my God, what will his mother say!" Haley yelled as she stood up from her position on the couch and began pacing across the floor.

She couldn't for the life of her figure out why she had never told Robert about her relationship with Nathan. It wasn't that she was afraid to bring him up, she just chose not to, and now her whole relationship with Robert seemed like a lie.

"So what are you going to do about this?" Brooke asked and picked up the magazine Haley had previously been looking at.

"I'm going to get a divorce Brooke. It's the only thing I can do." Haley shrugged. "I don't love Nathan anymore and he damn sure doesn't love me so there shouldn't be any arguments there."

"You think you can just get a divorce now Haley? After all that's been going on in our lives for the past year." Brooke asked her cautiously.

Haley sighed and sat back down on the couch. Brooke was right; there was no way she could get a quiet divorce from Nathan now. She had already made a name for herself in The Big Apple, and on top of that she was engaged to the mayor's son. There would definitely be too much publicity around her right now to try and quietly get a divorce.

"So what do you suggest I do about it Brooke, wait until it's time to say 'I do' and then tell him that I'm still married?" Haley asked, growing agitated at Brooke's 'know it all' attitude.

Brooke laughed at Haley and continued to read the new issue of People. "Nope. The press will have already found out by then Hales." Brooke answered as she pointed to their pictures in the magazine. "You need to go back to Tree Hill and take care of this; nobody in their right mind gives a fuck about that place."

Haley rolled her eyes at Brooke before sighing. "I haven't been to Tree Hill in eight years or even talked to anyone from Tree Hill. I can't just show up at his door step out of the blue to get a divorce."

"Why not? That's what he did to you," Brooke said as she closed the magazine and looked over at Haley. She knew that she was pushing Haley into something she obviously didn't want to do, but she knew these words needed to be said. They had to do something about this; there was no way she was going to let the public find out about Haley's past in Tree Hill until they had already handled the situation.

"Alright Brooke, I'll go to Tree Hill and take care of this. But you have to come with me, there's no way I'm going to do this alone." She opened her eyes to find Brooke smiling at her. "What?"

"Road trip!" Brooke yelled at the top of her lungs as she ran from the couch to her bedroom. "I have to call Tony and tell him we're leaving. You girlie, need to call your hubby to be."

-----------------------------------------

Haley let out an annoyed sigh and rolled her eyes for what had to have been the 20th time so far. Whoever said road trips were fun had obviously never been on one with Brooke Davis. Haley didn't too much mind the company; it was the constant offbeat singing and trifling chitchat that was started getting to her. Haley loved Brooke with all her heart, but there was only so much a girl could take. She was sure that it was Brooke's carefree attitude that had her feeling agitated. They had both ran out on their hometown a long time ago and had never looked back; yet seemed like Brooke didn't have a care in the world. She knew that Brooke had to be just as nervous as she was about returning, but in all the years she had known her, she had never one to express her feelings, so Haley too decided to try and calm herself down and just concentrate on the road.

Four hours into the drive, and about four Britney Spears albums later, Haley had been saved by her cell phone ringing. She quickly looked at the caller ID and cursed aloud, causing Brooke to stop her horrible rendition of 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' and inquire about who was calling. Haley shot Brooke a look that told her all she needed to know before answering the phone.

"Hey honey," she said as she answered the phone, "I miss you."

"I miss you too Hales. A lot. You don't know how boring it is being here in New York all by myself. My mom is driving me nuts. She keeps asking me all these questions about when we're gonna get married and set a date."

"So what did you tell her?"

"I told her that I'd set the date when I felt like it. Oh, and to stay out of our damn business. I had to set her straight, ya know? Let her know who's really running things."

Haley laughed on the other end of the phone. "So what did you really tell her?"

Robert chuckled before answering. "I told her that as soon as I knew the date, she'd know the date. So…have you made it back home yet?"

"Almost. Brooke drives like a bat out of hell so I'm sure we'll be there in about an hour or less." Haley said, causing Brooke to stick her tongue out at her and put in yet another Britney Spears album to sing along to.

"I really wish I could have come down there to tell them about the engagement with you Hales. I'd love to see where you grew up."

"I know, it's just that I haven't seen my parents in seven years, I just thought this should be something I tell them in person, and by myself."

"I understand. But look babe I have to go, duty calls. Tell your family I said hi and I can't wait to meet them."

"Ok…I love you."

"I love you too. Oh and one more thing. Tell Brooke to stick to designing clothes, she sounds like someone is strangling a cat to death."

Haley closed the phone, laughing at his last remark.

"What's so funny?" Brooke asked her as they passed the 'Welcome to Tree Hill' sign.

Haley, who had suddenly found herself becoming even more nervous as she began to see familiar sights could only muster one reply. "Nothing…nothing at all."

"Yeah, well welcome back to Tree Hell."


End file.
